STATS: De Bruyne v Messi | Oulala Games

Pep Guardiola described Kevin De Bruyne as second to only Lionel Messi following the Belgian’s performance in his side’s 4-0 demolition of Bournemouth at the weekend.

However Oulala Games have exclusively revealed that De Bruyne is in fact playing even better than the Argentine superstar this season!

Oulala’s team of data experts took a close look at both De Bruyne and Messi in nine key areas, analysing a number of different attacking stats in both the Premier League and La Liga this season to determine just how he compares to the world’s best player.

As a striker, Messi has unsurprisingly had more attempts on goal per game (5.8 to 3.6) and scored more goals (4 to 2). The Argentine also matches De Bruyne for shot accuracy (50%). However that’s as far as the stats fall for Messi.

De Bruyne has completed more successful passes per game (43 to 36) and at a higher completion rate (84% to 79%).

On a per game basis, the Belgian is making more key passes (2.8 to 1.8) and creating more chances (3.4 to 2.3). This has led to registering more assists (3 to 2).

Kevin also boasts a higher success rate when taking on opposition players, completing 71 per cent of his attempted dribbles, compared to Messi’s 60 per cent.

Of the nine areas analysed, Messi leads for two, one is shared, while De Bruyne claims six.

Ok, we’re only five games into the season so let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but judging by the stats, De Bruyne is surely an early contender for the Premier League’s Player of the Year crown should he maintain the excellent form that has Guardiola, the fans, and even Robbie Savage raving!